


Head over crossbow

by JenLionheart



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Accents are fucking hard to write, Canon-Typical Violence, Daryl Dixon Needs a Hug, F/M, Family Feels, Friendship, Grumpy Daryl Dixon, Shy Daryl, Slow Build, Strong Female Characters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-15
Updated: 2020-06-26
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:34:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24568576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JenLionheart/pseuds/JenLionheart
Summary: Set during the episode "Chupacabra", when Daryl is thrown from the saddle and ends up falling down a ridge, impaled on one of his own arrows.Injured, weak and hallucinating, he is found by a woman and her little brother.Meeting Jamie Flynn might be the best or the worst thing that had ever happened to Daryl.He hasn't decided yet..
Relationships: Daryl Dixon/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 41





	1. Paths Crossed

Daryl Dixon was having a shit day..

The weather was hot as hell, and the air was humid as he rode up the ridge searching for Sophia. Her newly discovered doll hanging from his belt, giving him renewed hope that he might actually find the little girl this time.

Rick had told him to wait, or at least take someone with him. But Daryl had scoffed at him. He was better on his own. Always had been. Taking someone with him would only slow him down.

Or at least that's what he had thought until the damn horse got spooked and decided to throw him..

He had tumbled down the treecovered ridge, landing in the shallow, rocky water with a grunt. Groaning in agony, he had soon realised that one of his arrows had pierced straight through his side.

Groggy and weak-limbed, he still managed to rip off his sleeves and use them to steady the arrow, keep it in place, before searching the murky water for his crossbow. He found it, using a stick to pull the damn thing to the surface.

All that was well and good, but trying to climb back up the ridge in his state was a _terrible_ idea..

He knows that now, since he only got about a quarter of the way up before tumbling back down, hitting his head in the process.

Lying on his back by the riverside, where he'd crawled using the last of his strength, he wondered if this day could possibly get any worse.

Then Merle showed up spouting all kinds of crap..

~~~~~

**Meanwhile....**

"What was that?" Tyler asks as they hear a crashing of sticks and branches, followed by a splash. The ten year old boy looks at his big sister nervously as her head whipped in the direction the noise came from.

She didn't look scared though. Not that he really expected her to be. Jamie was one of the toughest people he knew. 

"I don't know.. Sounded close. An animal maybe?" she guesses, shifting her backpack before meeting his frightened blue eyes. She softens her expression.

"Let's take a look, okay? It's probably nothing" she says, gently patting his shoulder. He nods, unsure, but trusting his big sister. She would keep him safe, she always has.

Jamie takes the lead, making a path through the underbrush, holding up branches for him as they go. She can hear the river, and figures it would be as good a place as any to fill up their canteens now that they were running low on water.

They hadn't run into any of the dead in a while, a few days maybe. But she knew better than to let her guard down.

Breaching the treeline, her sharp eyes quickly scan the riverbed for any movement, but finds none. She checks that her brother is still behind her before heading for the water, unclipping her canteen from her belt as she walks.

It seems quiet, but when she crouches down to fill it, she notices something lying on the ground about 50 meters further up. 

Squinting her eyes, she realises that it's a man. He's not moving though..

She swallows, and reaches for her gun.

~~~~

_"You're nothing but a freak to them. Redneck trash.. That's all ya are.."_

Merle's face kept swimming in and out of focus as Daryl struggled to keep his eyes open. He knew that Merle wasn't really there, he couldn't be. But the words still stung, like they always did..

" _Ya know they're laughing at ya behind yer back, right?"_

Merle continues, mercilessly dredging up every fear and insecurity in Daryl's mind, and he hates him for it.

"Shut up.." he moaned, squinting as the figure masquerading as his brother started to morph into something else.

No, not something else.. _Someone_ else..

It was a woman.. A woman with short, dark, pixie cut hair and stunning blue eyes.

Blinking, his blurry vision took in the well worn Led Zeppelin T-shirt, the blue flannel wrapped around her waist, her denim shorts and hiking boots. She'd look like a typical tomboy camper if it wasn't for the steely expression and the gun she was pointing directly at his head..

He froze, the haziness clearing up momentarily from the threat.

"Did he just tell you to _shut up_?!" a boy's voice asked incredulously, and Daryl finally noticed a scrawny looking, little kid standing a few feet behind the woman. 

"I don't think he was talking to me.." she says with a frown, lowering her gun slowly. He hears the click of the safety being snapped back into place and breathes a little easier as she shoves the gun into the back of her shorts.

"You're not gonna shoot him?" the kid asks then, and she glares at him as she pulls her backpack off with rushed movements. "Of course not, I thought he was dead!" she mutters defensively, before crouching down beside Daryl, opening her pack.

"Who 're you?" he slurs, his head feeling like its filled with cotton. She meets his unfocused eyes briefly as she rummages through her pack.

"I'm Jamie", she tells him, "Sorry about the gun, but when you find a guy bleeding on the ground, moaning and groaning, you sort of expect him to be one of those _things_.." she explains, not sounding the least bit sorry. Pulling out a small first-aid kit from her pack, she settles it on the ground beside him, eyeing him critically. 

She inches closer to him as she looks him over and he thinks he might have preferred the gun. He hates having people up in his space.

"What 're you doin'?" he asks. As sluggish as his mind is, he's still unsettled by having this stranger hovering over him.

"I'm gonna help you, alright?" she says, reaching a hand up to his face. But he flinches when she touches him, and she backs off a few inches, before trying again. Slower this time.

Her eyes have softened quite a bit, and when they meet his he doesn't see anything threatening in them. "Just try to relax" she says gently, and surprisingly he _does_. A little..

He lets her turn his head lightly to the side, so she can scrutinize the wound there before quickly moving on to the more urgent one on his side.

"Is that a.. An _arrow_?" the boy asks, sounding both horrified and intrigued at the same time. The woman, _Jamie_ , shoots him a look over her shoulder.

"Tyler, just keep an eye out for the creepers, okay? You don't need to be watching this" she says sharply, turning her attention back to the protruding arrow sticking out of Daryl's side.

He can see the question brewing on her face. A ' _How the hell did you end up with an arrow in your side?_ '- kind of question, but she shakes her head and asks for his name instead.

"Daryl.." he hisses through his teeth as she rips the fabric of his shirt around the wound open, to get a better look. The movement jostles the arrow, which hurts like a bitch.

It's obvious that she's done this before. Most people were at the very least a little squeamish about blood and all that, but she looked perfectly calm and focused. 

A nurse, maybe? Her hands were quick and efficient, exposing the wound, assessing, then meeting his eyes again. 

"Well, _Daryl_. That arrow is gonna have to come out.. You up for that?" she asks calmly, and he grimaces.

"Ain't got much choice, do I?" he grits out, already knowing the answer, and she shakes her head with a somewhat sympathetic wince. "Not really, no.." she says readily.

"Jus' do it.." he says, too tired and in too much pain to protest being aided by some strange woman. She nods and gets to work.

Holding the arrow as steady as she can, she snaps off the head, ignoring his grunt of pain in favor of gently rolling him onto his uninjured side, so she can get a firm grip on the back end of the damn thing.

She works fast, not giving him time to process or react much at all. He grits his teeth and growls loudly as she pulls the arrow out, feeling like he might just pass out from the agony of having something literally torn out of his body.

Dark spots are dancing in the corner of his eyes as she rolls him over onto his back again. Staring up at the bright blue sky and battling the nausea, he barely feels it when she threads her arms under him, dragging her own shirt underneath to tie around his waist like some messed up blue flannel version of a tourniquet. 

"Don't pass out on me.. You could have a concussion for all I know, and I don't exactly have the right equipment to treat you out here" she tells him sternly as she ties the knot tight. 

" _Jamie_..?!" Tyler calls.

The world is spinning again. Or at least it looks that way to Daryl's groggy mind. But he still recognizes the fear in that kid's voice, and turns his head, following the bony little arm that's shakily pointing at something moving up the creek. 

A walker. 

"Shit.." he hears Jamie say from where she's still hovering above him, her toned body tensing visibly. And then she's up and moving. 

"Tyler, stay with Daryl. Keep him awake, okay?" she says while pulling a knife from some makeshift holster she had strapped around her ankle, her eyes never leaving the threat up ahead.

The kid nods and practically runs over to Daryl, crouching behind him, but keeps his young, innocent eyes trained on Jamie as she heads towards the walker with determined strides, white-knuckled grip on her knife.

The thing snarls and makes a grab for her, but she dodges it, almost losing her footing on the slippery ground in the process. A little dance begins, the dead and the living circling each other, before she sees an opening and goes for it. 

It was hardly a perfect kill, as she struggled to shove the blade into it's skull, but she got the job done. Just in time too, as another one stumbled out of the treeline. 

She was a little more confident this time, and rushed it, grabbing it by the shoulder and stabbing it through the eye.

Daryl thinks he'd be more impressed if he wasn't half unconscious and in a world of pain.. 

Jamie is panting a little as she jogs back to them, and Tyler launches himself into her arms as soon as she gets within twelve feet. 

"It's okay, I'm okay.." she assures the kid, rubbing her hand up and down his back and planting a kiss into his messy dark hair. 

"But we got to move, alright? There could be more coming" she says, then looks at Daryl with a contemplative frown. She lets go of the kid and crouches down beside Daryl again.

"You got people around here? I haven't seen you around before" she asks him, adding the last part almost absentminded. A simple observation, not suspicion. 

Daryl manages to grit out the word "Greene's" and she blinks in surprise, before smiling somewhat shakily. "The Greene's farm? As in Hershel Greene?" she asks to confirm, and he nods.

She's still smiling when she looks up at the kid standing close to them. "Did you hear that? Looks like we're going to see Maggie" she says and the boy smiles too.

Daryl frowns. "Ya know 'em?" he asks, even though it's obvious that she does. She nods. "Yeah, I went to school with Maggie. Hell, we practically grew up together.." she says with a breathy kind of chuckle.

It makes her whole face light up in a noticeable way, changing her from hardened steel to something bright and easy. He realises that it's relief he sees in her face. She's relieved that her friend is alive and okay.

She takes a deep breath and then looks him over with renewed determination. 

"Alright. Let's see if we can get you up and moving, okay? I know a shortcut to the farm" she says, and he wants to argue, especially as she tells her son, -brother?-, to carry his crossbow while she pulls Daryl's arm across her shoulders to help him stand. 

He wants to tell her to back off, that he can do it himself. But his legs feel like rubber when he puts weight on them and he finds that he actually _can't_ do this on his own. Damn it..

He's forced to lean heavily on her and half expects her to fall down, but she's surprisingly _strong_. "I got you" she says, and he can feel that she does. Her arms and shoulders are firm and unyielding under his weight. 

The kid however, struggles a bit with the weight of his crossbow, but finds a sure way to hold it after a few fumbling attempts. Even so, Jamie still tells him to "Be careful with that. It's a _weapon_ , not a toy, alright?". 

If Daryl wasn't so groggy, he would've laughed at the serious expression that takes shape on the kid's face. Like he's been given a mission of utmost importance or something. He handles the crossbow as carefully as you would a ticking bomb, and nods to them, as if saying "I got this". 

Jamie snorts quietly, looking at the kid with unrestrained fondness. Then she turns her head and looks at Daryl. Their faces are awfully close like this and he ducks his chin, leaning away from her. 

"Are you ready?" she asks, not unkindly, and he nods, looking at the ground. 

~~~

The trio moved slowly, with Tyler leading the way up ahead, and Jamie supporting a tired and grumpy Daryl as he stumbled along. 

His whole body hurt, and he's not sure if he'd be standing _at all_ if Jamie wasn't holding him up every step of the way. And ain't that a bitch? Having to depend on someone he just met to keep him on his own two feet.

They had to stop a few times to take a break, for Jamie's sake as much as his own. And every time he'd think that this was it. She'd give up and tell him that his heavy ass was too much for her to drag along and then just leave him there.

But she never did. 

She would just catch her breath, share her canteen with him, quickly check his wound, and then pull him back up and keep going.

Rinse and repeat.

She was panting with every step now, and he could feel her arms tremble under the strain. But still she didn't let up, didn't even complain. It made him feel strangely humbled.

If it had been Merle or anybody else, he doubts that they would've helped him at all. Merle probably would've made him crawl back, just to teach him a lesson..

"I can see the farm!" Tyler yells excitedly up ahead, and Jamie quickly looks around to see that he didnt attract any unwanted attention with that yell.

" _Volume_ , Ty.." she chastises breathlessly, and the kid smacks a hand over his mouth as if he could somehow take it back.

"He's right, though. It's right up there" Daryl says, inclining his head towards the barely visible farmhouse. She nods. "I know. Good thing too, because this heat is killing me.." she pants, adjusting her grip on him before soldiering on.

Once they reached the farm, they were met with guns and various weapons. No surprise there. Rick, Shane, Glenn and T-dog came running, all armed. 

"Tyler, get behind me! Now!" Jamie shouts as she sees them, and the kid is nothing if not obedient. He runs to her and clings on to the back of her shirt. 

Jamie holds Daryl up with one arm and raises her gun with the other, pointing it right at Rick, who still has his Python pointed at her. "Put your gun down!" he demands, but she shakes her head, her jaw tight with tension. "You first!" she shouts back. 

Daryl rolls his eyes. "How 'bout _both_ of ya put yer guns down?" he growls, exasperated. And that's when Rick finally seems to recognize just _who_ Jamie is holding up.

"Daryl?" the former sheriff asks, lowering his gun with wide eyes. As he lowers his, Jamie starts to lower hers in response.

"Yeah, 's me.." Daryl says tiredly, stumbling a little before Jamie catches him. She grunts as she takes almost the full weight of him, and turns her head to glare at Rick and the others.

"If you're done waving your dicks around, would you give me hand?" she asks, clearly not very happy with being greeted the way they were, and Rick at least has the decency to look a little ashamed before rushing forwards to support Daryl's other side. 

"Who the fuck are you?" Shane sneers at her, and she sneers right back. "Jamie Flynn. Who the fuck are _you_?" she replies, and T-dog snorts in amusement, liking her immidiately. 

"We can do introductions later! Let's just get Daryl inside first, he's hurt!" Rick orders sharply. As first meetings go, it could've gone better. But then again, it could've gone a lot worse..

~~~~

The next twelve hours are a bit of a blur to Daryl. He remembers being half dragged, half carried into one of the upstairs bedrooms. He remembers fighting Hershel when the old man tried to stitch him up, then falling limp when Jamie pushed him down gently and promised that she would do the stitching instead.

All the fight drained out of him then. This woman had practically carried him for miles, helped him when nobody else did. He figured he could trust her to stitch him up too. 

After that he only remembers bits and pieces. Like a warm washcloth being dragged across his skin, nimble fingers knitting torn flesh back together, and her voice, talking to him the whole time. Then nothing, as exhaustion finally claimed him.


	2. Stitches

When Daryl opened his eyes it was dark outside, but the moon was full, leaving the room in a faint silvery glow from the moonlight shining through the open windows.

He laid there in silence for a few minutes, letting his eyes adjust. The house was mostly quiet, only a soft murmur of conversation could be heard from downstairs.

The sheets rustled as he shifted his position on the bed, wincing at the pull of his stitches. Fuck, he was sore. It felt like he'd been hit by a runaway truck, maybe even two of them.

He lifted the bandages on his side and found a neat row of black thread holding his side together. Remembering how he got them made him huff to himself.

They looked far better than anything he could've done himself, but it still irked him that he had so easily trusted a stranger to sew him up like that.

Daryl didn't trust people. That was just a fact. He sure as hell didn't trust someone he'd only just met. Or at least, normally, he wouldn't.. 

A light shuffle of fabric drew his attention to the big chair in the corner of the room. Squinting in the low light, he was surprised to see that it was her. 

She was curled up in what had to be an uncomfortable position, with a much smaller person curled on top of her again. A light blue blanket thrown halfway over both of them. 

What was she doing here? As far as Daryl was concerned, she had done her good deed for the year, so why was she still here?

Jamie shifted a bit, a small frown forming briefly between her brows before smoothing back out again, one arm circled protectively around her little brother.

The kid was clinging tightly to her even in his sleep. His skinny little arms wrapped around her waist as he drooled all over her shoulder. 

Something clenched painfully in Daryl's chest at the sight. He remembered a time when he'd clung to Merle just as tightly. Wishing his big brother could protect him from the sounds of their old man beating their mom, again. 

Shrugging off the bad memories, he took the time to study the pair in front of him.

The resemblance between the two was obvious with their faces being so close together. They both had the same dark hair, same button nose, same cupidsbow type lips, same high cheekbones. And though their eyes were closed, he remembers from earlier that they also have the same shade of blue. 

But the age gap was significant. He guessed there had to be at least 15 years between the two. It's why he first thought that they were mother and son, but then the kid went and called her _Jamie_. Not that many kids that would call their parents by their first name now, is there? Not unless they were being rebellious or hated their parents. And that obviously wasn't the case here.

Tyler looked at Jamie like she was some kind of super hero. To him, she probably was.. 

His eyes trailed over her soft facial features. She looked so young and innocent in her sleep, with no trace of the hardened steel he'd witnessed when she drew her gun on him, or when she killed those two walkers.

Here, in the glow of the moon, she was actually kind of beautiful.. 

A soft knock on the door startled him from his no doubt creepy staring, and he blushed as he looked up to see Carol tip-toeing inside the room, carrying a tray loaded up with three steaming bowls of stew. 

"I thought you might be hungry" she whispers, setting down the tray on the nightstand beside him and turning on the small bedlamp that sat there.

Daryl carefully pulled himself up into a sitting position, taking the offered bowl as it was handed to him, with a quiet thanks. 

She looked tired, he noticed. Probably hasn't slept at all since Sophia went missing. He felt guilty for not having found the little girl yet, but there wasn't much he could do about that. If he tried to get back out there right now, he'd probably just end up tearing his stitches.

Carol looked over at the pair sleeping in the chair and smiled softly. "Do you want me to wake up your new friends?" she asks Daryl almost teasingly. He huffs and glares at her.

"Ain't my friends" he says harshly, but still quietly enough not to wake them, Carol notices with light amusement. He swallows a hot mouthful of stew and scowls over at them, asking; "How come they're in here anyway?"

Carol struggles not to laugh at the petulant expression on his face. Biting her cheeks she says; "Hershel was worried that you might have a concussion. Jamie volunteered to keep an eye on you".

Looking over at the young woman, she adds; "She must've fallen asleep in the past hour or so. Rick said she was awake the last time he came up here". 

Daryl frowns as he realises that they've been looking in on him regularly while he was out. He's not sure how he feels about that.. Nodding his head towards the siblings, he asks; "And the kid?"

Carol smiles and shrugs. "He goes where she goes, I guess. They seem very close" she says, and Daryl can hear the light fondness in her voice. She likes them, he thinks with a mental eyeroll. _Great, guess we've just added another two members to our fucked up little family._

Their hushed conversation eventually wakes up Jamie. Her eyelids fluttering open, sluggishly fighting off the sleep wanting to reclaim her. Yawning widely, she startles as she becomes coherent enough to notice Carol and the grumpy patient that was now very much awake.

"Shit.. Didn't mean to fall asleep" she says sheepishly, starting to sit up before realising that Tyler is still sleeping on her chest. She lets herself fall back into the chair with a half-hearted huff, feigning annoyance at being used as a human mattress.

Patting the kid's back gently, she looks up hesitantly. "How are you feeling?" she asks Daryl, who shrugs before going back to finishing his bowl. "Fine" he says between spoonfuls, eyeing her warily.

"No nausea? Dizziness?" she asks, and he shakes his head slowly. She nods, satisfied. "Good" she says, and she sounds like she actually means it, which throws Daryl for a loop. Why the hell would she care?

Carol turns and picks up the two remaining bowls before gesturing with them to Jamie. "We made dinner, if you want some?" she asks, and Jamie lights up, pleasantly surprised.

"Oh, I'd love some. I haven't had a homecooked meal in months" she says, carefully sitting up and lifting her brother's gangly limbs so he's more or less upright in her lap.

"Hey, wake up sleepy head" she whispers against his forehead as he scrunches up his little face, obviously not happy about being woken up. "Don't wanna.." he mumbles adorably, making her chuckle. 

"Carol brought us some food, and don't tell me you're not hungry, 'cause I know you haven't eaten since this morning" she coaxes gently. The promise of food seems to work, as he rubs his sleepy eyes and looks up at Carol as she comes forward with the bowls.

"Thank you, this is really sweet of you" Jamie says gratefully as she accepts the offering. She settles her own bowl on the armrest of the chair, and rearranges Tyler's position so he's facing forward before placing his bowl in his lap.

"You're welcome" Carol says, wringing her hands a bit as she holds back the question she so desperately wants to ask. Jamie notices though. "What is it?" she asks.

Carol hesitates for a second, then says; "Hershel said you grew up around here. That you know these woods better than anyone.." she trails off nervously and Jamie understands. Maggie had told her about the missing girl.

"I'll join the search tommorrow" she says readily, making Carol sigh in relief and gratitude. "I saw where Daryl found the doll. We'll start there" she adds, giving the older woman a reassuring look.

" _Thank you_ " Carol says teary eyed and heartfelt, while Daryl eyed the newcomers with poorly hidden suspicion.. 

~~~

The next morning Daryl moved back out into his tent, despite Carol's protests and Rick's worried glances. He had started to feel a little antsy in the house, being cooped up in a room all by himself with nothing to do. 

Not that there was anything more he could do out here since he was officially on bedrest, but he felt marginally better being surrounded by his own stuff instead of somebody else's.

Jamie had kept her word and left at first light, taking Glenn, Maggie and Andrea with her to search for Sophia. Leaving behind a very nervous-looking Tyler to be watched over by Carol and Lori. 

He suspected that Jamie left Tyler with them to distract Carol from her missing daughter and Lori from fussing too much over Carl, who was still recovering from being shot by Otis.

A part of him was impressed by how quickly she picked up on the group's dynamics, and how well she could read people. But another part of him was ticked off by the thought that she seemed to fit in better with the group in a span of less than 24 hours, than he himself has managed to do in 2 _months_..

He didn't like it. He felt like the others were idiots for trusting her so readily, when they knew next to nothing about her. Were they just going take in anyone with a pretty face and a gun now? Is that how it is?

He could hear Merle's mocking voice in his head then, as clear as if he was sitting right next to him..

_"Did ya forget that she also saved yer sorry ass 'n fixed up that damn hole in yer side? Jesus, baby brother. Some goddamn gratitude wouldn't kill ya.."_

Daryl huffed to himself, knowing that _Merle_ was right, but he wasn't ready to admit that, even to a figment of his imagination.

Lying on his back in his tent, using one of his arrows to poke holes in the wall of fabric surrounding him, he wondered if she was going to stick around.

Then he wondered why hell he cared if she did.. 


	3. Silver Dolphins

_"What the hell are you doing, Jamie?"_ , she asked herself as she crouched down by some barely visible tracks in the dried mud to study them. They were small, could be the girl's, but she wasn't sure. 

Jamie felt way out of her league on this one.. Sure, she had tracked deer and small game before, back when her grandfather used to take her out hunting with him. But that was years ago, and she sure as hell had never tracked a _person_ before. Let alone a little kid..

Still.. She wanted to help. If it had been Tyler out here, lost and alone.. She doesn't even want to think about it.. 

It had been unsettling enough just to leave him at the farm this morning. It's the first time they have been separated since the outbreak, and she hates not having him within her sight. But she knows he'll be safer there, than out here on the trail. 

"Find something?" Maggie asks as her and Glenn catch up to her. Andrea trailing much further behind.

"Some tracks. Mud's cracked up from the heat, so it's hard to tell, but I think it might be hers.." Jamie says absently, her eyes looking ahead following the faint footprints . 

"There's an old sawmill about 3 miles in that direction", she tells them, pointing the way. "It's been abandoned for like 40 years. Was pretty overgrown last I saw it. But it could be worth a look" she suggests. 

"You really think she could have gone that far?" Glenn asks hesitantly. Jamie sighs, pausing to wipe the sweat from her forehead as she stands up. "She's been out here for days now, right? There's no telling how far she could've gone" she replies honestly. 

Glenn nods, biting his lip in thought. "Alright. Let's take a look" he decides, briefly looking to Maggie who nods in agreement.

Decision made, Jamie takes up the lead again. Her sharp eyes alternating between the small tracks on the ground and the path as they walked. The tracks were a little clearer up ahead, and upon closer inspection Jamie felt more confident that it really was a little girl's trail she was tracking.

~~~~

Meanwhile, back at the farm, Daryl was facing a slow death by incessant boredom ..

Propped up by more pillows than strictly necessary, he scowled at anyone who walked past his open tent. His mood worsening with every hour he had to spend just laying around with nothing to do. 

He's never been good at staying still. Merle used to nag him about it all the time, said it made him tired just looking at him. But that's just the way Daryl is. Always moving, always needing to be doing something. _Anything_. Otherwise he just gets antsy, bordering on anxious. 

Carol brought him a few books earlier to help him pass the time, but he'd barely waited until she was out of sight before tossing them aside with a huff. 

Not that he didn't appreciate the gesture, he did. But he would much rather be out there looking for the girl, or at least get some hunting done. Being useless just didn't sit right with him.

Looking out through the tent-opening, he could see Dale sitting on top of the RV, keeping watch. The old man had his binoculars hanging in a strap around his neck, and a rifle across his lap. 

Further to the right, he saw Rick having a hushed conversation with Shane. It didn't look like it was pleasant one, judging by Rick's tense posture and Shane's puffed up chest. That there, was a ticking time bomb if he ever saw one..

He doesn't get to watch them for much longer though, as a small body suddenly takes up his view by standing hesitantly in front of the open tent. 

"Hi.." Tyler says shyly, fidgeting with some kind of magazine in his hands. No, not a magazine, he realises. A comic book. Huh..

"Hey" he manages to reply, wondering what the hell this kid is doing over here. Wasn't Carol supposed to be watching him? At least until 'big sis' comes back?

"I broke my leg once", the kid announces, completely out of the blue. And Daryl frowns, confused as to why he's being told this little piece of information. "Uh.. Okay.. That sucks?" he offers, not sure how to handle any of this. He doesn't have much experience with kids, what the hell is he supposed to say to one?

Tyler seems unperturbed though. "I couldn't run and play and stuff, and I was really bored.." he continues, and Daryl finally gets what this is about. "I thought you might be bored too, so I brought you this.." he says and gives him the comic book in his hands.

Daryl takes it slowly and looks at comic, all dumbstruck by the unexpected gesture. It's Captain America, special edition, and it looks like it's been read almost to pieces. 

"It's my favourite" Tyler tells him, and Daryl looks at him, sees him start to fidget again. He gets the impression that this kid doesn't talk to people all that often. Which makes Daryl even more surprised that he would talk to _him_.. Of all people.

"Thanks.." he says, sounding as stunned as he probably looks right now. The kid however, just nods his head and scuttles off, leaving Daryl to stare after him in helpless confusion.

What the hell just happened?

~~~

Out in the woods, Jamie and the others were closing in on the old sawmill. She could barely make it out between all the leaves and bushes. It had gotten even more overgrown since the last time she was out here, Mother nature was clearly intent on reclaiming her territory.

Circling around towards the front of the structure, she pulled a few branches out of the way to reach the door. Only to discover that it was locked up tight. Damn it. 

She did another half circle around the building and spotted a broken window on the side. It was pretty low to the ground, she noted. Certainly wouldn't be a problem for a kid to climb through.. 

Maggie caught up to her just as she was taking off her backpack and eyeing the window with determination.

"You're going inside?" Maggie asked, sounding a little worried. Jamie looks at her funny. "Yeah, why?" she replies, not seeing the problem. 

"Just be careful, okay? We don't know what's in there.." Maggie says, and Jamie snorts as she grabs hold of the upper frame of the window, swinging her leg inside. "That's why I'm going in, Mags. To find out what's in there" she muses, before dropping down to the dusty old floorboards.

It's pretty dark inside and hard to see anything, so she pokes her head back out and says; "Hand me a flashlight, will you?". 

Maggie rummages through her bag and produses a small black flashlight that she hands to Jamie, who ducks back inside and flicks it on. 

"That's better.." she mumbles to herself, shining the light around as she cautiously walks further in. The floor creaks ominously under her boots, and she winces, hoping they'll hold her weight and not send her plummeting down into the underground cellar beneath.

The air is stale and heavy with dust and the smell of rotting wood, making her throat itch as she breathes it in. She's surprised to see that all the workbenches are still there, rusty sawblades and all. There's even an old mug standing on one of them, along with several tools. It almost looks like everyone just stepped out on a lunchbreak one day and just never came back.. 

"Now, there's a creepy thought.." she mutters as she walks closer to the centre of the mill. She spots something shiny under one of the benches and crouches down to take a closer look, and her eyes widen. 

It's a silver bracelet, with tiny dolphins hanging off of it. The dust on the floorboards around it have been disturbed, recently by the looks of it. And to her left she sees an imprint in the sawdust. A tiny hand. 

"Maggie?! I think I found something!" she calls out with growing excitement.


	4. Two is better than one

The discovery of the bracelet sent a new buzz of excitement and hope throughout the farm once Carol confirmed that it was in fact Sophia's. 

Rick, Shane, Glenn, Daryl and Jamie gathered in Hershel's living room, maps spread out on the dining table in front of them.

Jamie leaned over the table with a thin sharpie and circled the places where the group hadn't looked yet, and placed an 'X' where she'd found the bracelet and another one where Daryl had found the doll. 

Rick looked over her shoulder with a thoughtful expression. "Seems like we've narrowed down the search to this area, right here" he says, pointing as he talks. Jamie nods in agreement.

"Any tracks leading from the sawmill?" Shane asks gruffly, and she sighs, rubbing her tired eyes. "None that I could find.. But I'm not a tracker.." she says apologetically.

"You tracked well enough today.." Glenn points out from the other side of the table. Jamie shakes her head, appreciating the encouragement, but not feeling like it's deserved. "That was mostly dumb luck, to be honest.." she says, and Rick gives her a small smile. 

"Well, we could all use a little dumb luck right about now.." he tells her, raising his eyebrows as if daring her to argue with him. She smiles lightly, bowing her head in concession. 

Daryl watched the whole exchange from where he was leaning in the doorway. He still wasn't sure what to make of her. But as much as he hated to admit it, Jamie had already proven herself.

She was the kind of woman that would go out of her way to help a stranger, to search for a lost kid she had never even laid eyes on, and who didn't hesitate to do whatever she had to do to protect her little brother. 

He could begrudgingly respect that, if nothing else..

It was late into the night by the time they rolled up the maps and decide to call it a day. New search area plotted out and agreed upon.

Daryl eyed Jamie critically when she turned to him with a small pack in her hand, wondering what she wanted now.

"Come on, I'll walk you back to your tent.." she says tiredly and he scoffs, offended. He's perfectly capable of walking on his own and he was about to tell _her_ that much, when she actually rolls her eyes at him and says exasperated; "So I can check your dressings, dumbass.." 

Which, _oh_.. That made sense.. However, his pride won't allow him to budge and he still glares at her as he follows her out into the warm night air.

They walk to his tent in silence. Jamie was too tired to make polite small talk, and Daryl was too busy trying to hide how much every single step hurt his bruised and battered self. There was just no way that he was going to give her the satisfaction of having to act like his personal crutch again.

Once they're inside his tent, she turns to him and simply tells him to "Strip", and he freezes, his eyes going wide.

" _What?_ " he manages to cough up with a completely horrified expression on his face. She can't seriously expect him to get naked for this, can she? 

Jamie's stern and tired expression quickly dissolves into fits of giggles, and he scowls, realising that he's been played. 

"Calm down, I'm just messing with you. Just lift your shirt up, so I can see it" she says, still laughing quietly, and he huffs at her but does what she asks. 

She takes a knee in front of him and starts gently peeling the dressing aside, pausing when the muscles in his abdomen ripples at her touch. But since they go still again just as quickly, she takes that as a green light to keep going. 

Jamie's no fool, and she would have to be one not to notice how much Daryl hated being touched. But she also knows a proud man when she sees one, and so she does her best not to give any attention to his minor flinches while she works.

The wound itself seems to be healing surprisingly well. A little swollen still around the stitches, but that's to be expected. 

"Looks good. No signs of infection" she tells him, meeting his tense eyes briefly. She opens the small pack she brought with her and pulls out a fresh bandage, redressing the wound with quick and efficient movements.

"How's the pain?" she asks as she stands up, watching him hurriedly pulling his shirt back down and stepping away from her a bit.

"I've had worse.." he mutters quietly, and she nods, figuring that's the best she'll get out of him anyway.

"Alright.. Well, come find me if it gets bad and I'll give you something for the pain" she says, giving him a pointed stare. And he nods, even though they both know he has no intention of doing that.

Trying and failing to suppress a yawn, she turns to leave, when she spots something familiar laying on top of his makeshift bed. Tyler's comic book.

"What's this doing here?" she asks as she picks it up, a bemused expression on her face. 

"Yer brother gave it to me" he shrugs, and she raises her eyebrows a bit. Tyler rarely interacts with people he doesn't know well, so this was a surprise.

"Huh.. That was nice of him.." she comments, still processing the news, and Daryl snorts. She places the comic back where she found it, and sticks her hands in her pockets. 

"Well, I'm beat.. Get some rest, okay? I'll see you in the morning" she says, getting only a low grunt as a reply before she steps back outside.

~~~

Tyler was already asleep when Jamie walked into their temporary bedroom. Just the top of his head and a bare foot was visible beneath the massive duvet he'd flung over himself, making her snort quietly in fond amusement.

Sitting down on her side of the bed, she unlaced her boots with a bitten back groan. Her feet were sore, but then they always were these days. Frickin' apocalypse..

She tugged off her pants and eased herself back onto the mattress, not bothering to change into any kind of sleepwear. She'd have to get up again in few hours anyway, she reasoned.

"Jay?" a sleepy voice mumbled beside her and she winces, having hoped to avoid waking him up. "Sorry, Ty.. Didn't mean to wake you.. " she says regretfully, and he rolls over to face her. 

"It's okay.." he yawns and looks at her with sleepy eyes. "Did you find the girl?" he asks, and she shakes her head sadly. "No.. But I'm going out to look for her again tommorrow.." she tells him.

"Okay.. Is Daryl going with you?" he asks then and she frowns in the dark. "No, he's hurt, remember? He needs to rest a little longer" she says.

"Oh.. Then how come he has a packed bag in his tent?" he asks, and she blinks in confusion before narrowing her eyes into thin slits. She had noticed a ready made backpack in his tent, but as tired as she was, she'd thought nothing of it. Now though.. 

"That son of a bitch.." she mutters to herself. 

~~~

Early the next morning, before the sun was even up, Daryl got dressed, grabbed his crossbow and backpack, and snuck quietly out of his tent. He figured he could be miles into the woods before anyone else was awake. That way nobody could stop him. He was determined to join the search for Sophia again.

Wounded or not. He was gonna find that little girl.

But the second he steps outside he runs smack into someone with a pair of highly unimpressed sharp eyes aimed at him..

"Going somewhere?" Jamie asks in a bored tone, standing there with her hip cocked and her arms crossed. She smirks as he nearly stumbles back into his tent from the shock. Quickly regaining his composure, he glares at her.

"The hell ya doin' sneakin' around like that?" he growls angrily, but she merely raises an eyebrow at him, seeming completely unfazed by his hot temper. "Pot, meet kettle.." she quips easily, and he huffs, but starts to calm down, knowing that she's right.

"So what, ya gonna run off an' tell on me now?" he accuses, glaring at the ground in frustration. He's going to lose his goddamn mind if he has to spend another day sitting on his ass..

"Nah, I wouldn't have brought _this_ if I was.." she says, and when he looks up he sees that she has some kind of thick roll of fabric in her hand. He frowns, but before he can ask what it's for, she tells him.

"It's a support bandage. I'm gonna wrap it around your waist to keep you from popping your stitches while we are out there" she informs him in a no-nonsense kind of way.

" _We_?" he asks, raising his eyebrows, even as he lets her step into his personal space and lift his shirt up to start wrapping the thick fabric around him. He tenses up a little, can't help it. But with the amount of times she's touched him in the past few days, he's starting to get used to it.

"Yes, _we._. I'm coming with you" she says, wrapping his waist tightly and he bristles, gritting his teeth. 

"I don't need a damn _babysitter!_ " he growls lowly, and she scoffs at him, tying off the bandage with a sharp tug that has him wincing in pain.

"No, what _you_ need is a better attitude!" she fires back, meeting his angry eyes head on until he looks away with a huff. Sighing loudly, she lowers her tense shoulders and tries to reason with the stubborn mule of a man.

"Look, _you_ found her doll. _I_ found her bracelet. The way I see it, if we work together, we might actually have a shot at finding _her_ this time.." she says, and he seems to mull it over for a moment. She mentally gears up to give a longer speech to argue her point, but much to her surprise he actually nods.

"Alright.." he says quietly, then narrows his eyes. "But ya best not be slowin' me down" he adds warningly, making her snort. More in annoyance than amusement. 

"I'm not the one with a hole in my side.." she points out snidely, grabbing her backpack up off the ground and walking off towards the treeline.

Huffing to himself about 'smart ass women' he follows..


	5. Jamie

Jamie had never really been much of a morning person.. She reflected on that as she headed up the ridge at asscrack-of-dawn with a less than friendly archer nipping at her heels. 

Before the dead started walking around, Jamie had been the type to sleep through several alarms before finally waking up enough to realise that she was late, _again_ , and then curse up a storm while getting dressed in a panic.

2 minutes later she would be banging on Tyler's door to tell him it was time for school, before nearly tripping down the stairs chanting "shit, shit, shit!" as she rushed to the kitchen to make her brother breakfast. 

More often than not, she would look at the time, curse some more, and then slap together a sandwich to shove into the kid's mouth as he yawned "Good morning" to her.

Despite waking up late every day, Jamie had miraculously never failed to get Tyler to school _on time_..

Sometimes she would get him there at the literal last _minute_ , but she still counted it as a win, even if his teachers occationally gave her the stink eye..

Getting _herself_ to work on time after dropping him off was the real challenge. One that almost always resulted in a less than legal, wild dash through town that probably would've made even NASCAR drivers slightly uncomfortable..

But hey! Nobody's perfect, right? 

Besides, Jamie always made it work. She kept a clean house, put food on the table and made damn sure that Tyler kept his grades up, so that when that bitch from CPS came by, she wouldn't have shit to complain about.

Life was good.

Then the outbreak happened..

Jamie didn't know what to think the first time she heard about it on the news. They talked about a mysterious virus, violent attacks and cannibalism.. 

What the hell kind of virus could turn people into raging cannibals? It had to be some sick joke, right? Shit like that just couldn't be real..

But then Tyler called her from school with pure terror in his voice..

A girl in his class had epilepsy. She had a seizure that day and fell down, hitting her head on a desk. She died, Tyler had said. But the trouble was, she didn't stay dead for long.

~

_"Jamie, I'm scared.. They're everywhere.." he whispered shakily into the phone._

_"It's gonna be okay, Ty.. Just find a place to hide and be quiet.. I'm coming to get you, okay?" she told him with her heart firmly lodged in her throat. "Okay.." he whispered back, then "Jamie.. Don't let them bite you.. That's how it happens.."._

_Jamie must have broke every goddamn traffic law in the world getting to that school. It made her usual reckless driving look like childs play.._

_She even drove straight through the fence outside the playground. Barely waiting for her truck to come to a full stop before jumping out, she hit the ground running._

_There was only one place inside the school that had a landline, and that was the teacher's lounge. So she headed straight for it._

_But in the hallway she stopped dead in her tracks -no pun intended- as she saw a half eaten Mrs Peterson stumbling towards her.._

_The older woman was missing chunks of flesh from her neck, her stomach and her left leg.. Her eyes were dead and grey as they stared right at Jamie, growling with hunger.._

_"Fuck.." was all that escaped Jamie's lips before Mrs Peterson -no, the thing- launched itself at her.._

_Jamie tried to dodge it by jumping sideways, but only partially succeeded as the thing grabbed hold of her arm. She yelped and swung, punching what used to be Tyler's math teacher square in the face._

_It wasn't enough to bring it down, but at least it let go of Jamie's arm long enough for her to make a run for it.._

_She ran towards the teacher's lounge at full speed, slamming her palms against the door._

_"Tyler?!? Open the goddamn door!!" she yelled and heard him scrambling on the other side of it before the door swung open and a small hand yanked her inside._

_Jamie soon found herself on her knees, clinging to her little brother just as tightly as he was clinging on to her._

_"Are you okay?? Are you hurt??" she demands frantically a minute later, pulling away to run her hands all over him, checking for bites._

_He was red-faced and crying, but shook his head rapidly. "No, I-I'm okay.." he chokes out and she pulls him back into her arms, her heart pounding in her chest._

_Tyler sobs into her shirt while she holds him, her own eyes filling with tears as reality starts to set in.._

_What the fuck were they going to do?.._

~

It felt like a lifetime ago now, but in reality it had only been a few months..

Jamie got Tyler out.. Exactly _how_ she did that was something she was actively trying to forget and would never speak of, or even think about..

She got them back to the house, loaded up the truck, put his trembling little body in the front, grabbed their grandfather's gun-case and ran for the hills. Literally..

They used to go camping up here all the time, sometimes for weeks during the summer. Only this time, they had no intention of going back..

Jamie knew how to live off the land. She knew how to set traps, how to spear fish, what kind of berries and mushrooms were safe to eat. Their grandfather had taught her well in that regard, and she knew that they could survive out here, maybe even indefinitely if they had to..

They moved their camp around every 3-4 days, never staying in one spot long enough to draw any unwanted attention. 

Occationally one of the dead would stumble into their path and Jamie would take care of it. That's not saying that it was easy..

Jamie was trained to _save_ lives, not take them, and her initial hesitation meant that she had her fair share of close calls.

But knowing that she was the _only thing_ standing between _them_ and her little brother hardened her resolve, and her hesitation soon dissolved into nothing..

Jamie knew she had changed. She was harder, colder. She slept with one eye open now, always listening, always ready. She almost forgot what it was like to be around people.

Then they found Daryl..

He was the first _living_ person they had seen in over a month. And then she learned from him that the Greene's were alive too..

Jamie had often thought about them, along with a lot of other folks that she used to know. But she didn't dare to go anywhere near people, too scared of what she might find..

Tyler was her main priority anyway. Nothing else mattered. That's what she told herself. Keeping him safe was everything.

But finding Daryl.. Something changed then.. Because she finally realised that she didn't want to do this alone anymore.. 


	6. Icebreaker

The early morning light was only just starting to filter in through the treetops as Jamie and Daryl crossed the first marker, high up on the ridge.

It wasn't exactly an easy hike, especially since one of them was injured. But if they kept a reasonably steady pace, they should reach the new search area in few hours. 

Jamie kept a close eye on her grumpy companion as they walked. She knew that even if he didn't show it, the man had to be in a lot of pain. She would ask him, but they had barely said a word to each other since leaving the relative safety of the farm. And she had a feeling that asking Daryl if he was okay was the equivalent of kicking a hornets nest.. 

_Male pride_ , she thought with a mental eyeroll. The most useless character flaw aside from vanity and greed. 

Spotting the small, but steep hill ahead, she wondered just how deep that pride of his went, because there was no way he could climb that without popping his stitches. Unless he actually let her help him, that is..

Taking a deep breath, she launched herself upwards, taking the hill in three quick leaps. Then she wrapped one arm around the slender tree at the top and reached down for Daryl with the other.

And _Oh, my_.. If looks could kill, she would be dead for sure, Jamie thought to herself as he glared daggers at her.

But she could also see him realising the same thing she had, that he wasn't getting up on his own without hurting himself more. Still, he was setting his jaw and she just _knew_ that he was planning to try anyway..

Rolling her eyes, she says; "Look, there's a time and place for being a stubborn ass.. This isn't it.." 

His nostrils flare as he gives her another menacing scowl, but eventually he finds a firm footing and reluctantly takes her hand. She pulls him up with relative ease, knowing how to compensate for his weight. 

The act brings their bodies close together, and he looks her up and down with narrow eyes, surprised by her strength. "Yer pretty strong.. Fer a _girl_.." he drawls, half compliment, half insult..

She cocks an eyebrow at him as he steps away from her. "And you seem pretty smart.. For a _redneck_.." she fires back, and watches his mouth drop open in offense, making her smirk.

"Oh, _I'm sorry_.. I thought we were trading in stereotypes now. My bad.." she says sweetly, mock-pout on her lips while her eyes dance with amusement.

He stares at her for a moment, lips curling upwards at the playful comeback. And then much to her surprise, he actually _laughs._.

It's this quiet, breathy kind of chuckle that she instantly likes. Short and sweet, as if it was somehow startled out of him. 

_God_ , the man should laugh more.. He looks gorgeous like this.. 

Yeah, of course she has noticed how attractive he is.. She's got eyes, alright? But his general _fuck-off_ -personality left a lot to be desired. So the laughter was a pleasant surprise.

He quickly schools his expression into something more neutral when he catches her staring at him, and she hates to see that smile go away. 

"You've got a nice smile, you know?" she says softly, and he narrows his eyes at her. As if he's waiting for the punchline or something. When it doesn't come, he huffs, looking very uncomfortable all of a sudden. Like he doesn't quite know what to do with that. 

Delighted, she realises that Daryl might actually be a little _shy_.. Who would've thought?

She shakes her head with a small grin and decides to show him some mercy. "Come on, let's keep going" she says, and they start walking again.

Out of the corner of her eye, she notices that Daryl has a faint pink hue on his cheeks now that definitely wasn't there before, and she has to bite her lip so that she doesn't start laughing. 

~~~

Daryl glares at the ground as they walk, hating how flustered he had gotten just from a few simple words. It didn't mean anything, he just wasn't used to getting compliments, that's all..

Who the hell goes around commenting on people's smiles anyway?

They walk in silence for the next mile or so, which Daryl is thankful for. And as the sun rose higher in the sky, so did the temperature. The unforgiving heat of the South. But at least the trees offered some shade along the way.

They decide to stop by a small stream to refill their canteens and to cool off a bit. 

Daryl watches her shed her flannel shirt as they walk towards the water, tying it around her waist like she had the day he first saw her. Her grey tank top bearing small wet patches of sweat along her spine.

Her form is distinctly feminine. Pretty face, slim waist, smooth skin, curves in all the right places. But there's something in the way she moves, the way she talks and acts. Something that just screams of a woman that's been raised in a man's world.

Kneeling by the stream, she uses her canteen to pour a generous amount of cool water over her bowed head, unaware that she's being studied by her companion.

 _"She's built like a fighter"_ he thinks as his eyes follow a few stray droplets running down her strong neck and in between her shoulder blades. Her lean, but well defined muscles rippling in a shiver from the cold water.

He can easily picture her outside chopping wood for the winter, or out in the wild hunting deer. Not the girly-girl type at all.

His old man would've pitched a fit if he ever met someone like Jamie Flynn, he mused to himself. Will Dixon was the kind of simple-minded asshole who thought women belonged in the kitchen or the bedroom, and had no business doing what he perceived as _men's_ work.

But Daryl never bought into all that crap. In his experience, women were just as capable as men. Always had been. And Jamie was like the physical embodiment of that. She had survived for months in these woods, taking care of a little kid the whole time, and looked no worse for it. She was a fighter.

He drags his eyes away before she can catch him staring. 

When she finishes up, she looks at him and sees him stretching a bit, but not without a small wince grazing his features. 

"How's your side?" she asks as she stands up, trying to sound casual about it so not to piss him off.

"Fine" he says automatically. But she has a look on her face that tells him that she's not buying it, and he huffs. "Not too bad.." he amends grudgingly, and she nods, accepting that assessment at least.

"So, what do you think? Should we go up that hill or take the valley below?" she asks him, changing the subject. He looks up towards the hill, considering.

"Better chance of spottin' her from higher ground.." he says reasonably and she nods in agreement. "Alright, let's go" she says, grabbing her backpack.

~~~

"Yer a nurse, right?" he asks when they're halfway up the hill. Figuring he might as well get to know her a little if she was going to stick around.

"EMT actually. Why?" she replies, surprised that he's making conversation now after being quiet for most of the morning. "Jus' curious.." he says with a light shrug, feigning disinterest.

"Alright.. What about you? What did you do before all this?" she asks, slowing her pace to match his.

"Not much.." he mutters, sighing quietly when she raises an eyebrow in question. "Did the odd job here n' there. Whatever I could get.." he says honestly, and she nods in understanding.

"A drifter, huh?" she concludes and Daryl looks away. "Nothing wrong with that" she adds reassuringly when she sees the tense line in his shoulders.

He meets her eyes then, and finds no judgement in them, so he relaxes a little. He's not sure what he had been expecting her to say, but people tended to look down on him for all sorts of reasons, so her easy acceptance was kind of nice.

"What made ya wanna be an EMT?" he asks, and finds himself actually wanting to know the answer.

"Well, it was either that or porn.. EMT had better dental" she jokes, and he snorts, making her grin.

"I guess I just always liked helping people you know?" she says more seriously a moment later, and he nods, paying close attention. "We used to live next door to a hospital when I was a kid, and I would see these EMT workers rushing in and out with patients. To me, they were like these brave knights bringing back wounded from the battlefield or something.." she tells him, laughing a little at how silly it sounded.

But Daryl just smiled this crooked little smile, more amused than anything else.

"I wanted to be just like them. So, as soon as I qualified, I signed up for classes" she finishes with a sort of sheepish shrug, still mildly embarrassed by her 'knights' comparison. 

"Nothin' wrong with that.." he says almost playfully, repeating her own words from earlier. She smiles in recognition. 

The conversation flows surprisingly easy after that, the ice having been broken and all. They talk about hunting, and about where they grew up. They talk about the outbreak, and where they were the first time they saw a walker. What they think about the whole thing.

Daryl tells her about the CDC and what happened up there. Jamie wishes she was more surprised by the news, but she really isn't.. She hopes that there is someone out there, somewhere, who's working on a cure. But she learned a long time ago that hope is a dangerous thing, and that wishing never got her anywhere..

Hours pass, and soon they find themselves high above the valley, looking down.

A few walkers stumble around down below, catching Daryl's attention. Further down he spots several more, all headed in the same direction, and he points it out to Jamie, who frowns in thought.

"Somethin' must be drawin' them in.." he says worriedly, and she quickly catches on to his way of thinking.

"You think it's her?" she asks anyway, and his lips form a thin line before he nods. Exchanging a look, they silently agree to follow the dead at a distance, to see if they'll lead them to her.


End file.
